SocialsVoice - Stigma

SocialsVoice is a social media–focused youth participatory study that aimed to improve our understanding of the relationship between social media and mental health among adolescents. Previous studies on this topic did not include youth voices—that is, social media user perspectives—and mostly used simple surveys or smartphone usage data. To fill this gap, we co-designed SocialsVoice along with community stakeholders.

The study ran from September 2024 to March 2025. Participants included 41 Latino youth aged 13–24 years, and 28 of their parents, all recruited from community-based organizations across the United States. Youth participants defining what they considered to be positive and negative mental health 
content. Then youth were randomly assigned to groups of either the positive or negative mental health–themed content and invited to share social media clips depicting their assigned theme. Throughout seven video-chat sessions, youth discussed their thematic social media clips in their groups using the “SHOWED” method—an established tool for community-based group discussion. 

The culmination of the study is a book summarizing the findings. 

To request a copy of the book, or samples of submitted content, contact socialsvoice@gmail.com.